Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose: Surgical glove powders are now known to be implicated in serious postoperative foreign body reactions due to contamination of the operative field. Powder contamination of intraocular lenses, with severe postoperative anterior chamber inflammatory responses, have been reported too. We already showed that intraocular lenses (IOLs), or their transport solution, could induce a toxicity on human lens epithelial cells (SRA 01/04), in vitro. This study may aim at showing the cytotoxicity induced by surgical glove powder on SRA. Methods: Four powder dilutions into DMEM were studied and compared with control. An elution of latex particles, known to induce a strong apopto–necrosis on SRA, was used as toxic control. After a 24hours adhesion time in microplates, cells were treated during fifteen minutes by the four powder dilutions during 24hours. Then, after a 48hours recuperation time, membrane integrity was assessed using a neutral red test to study cellular viability. Chromatin condensation was evaluated by DNA probes, Hoechst 33342 test and propidium iodide, to characterize apoptosis. These quantitative tests were performed directly in 96 wells microplates using cold light cytofluorometry. Then a qualitative analysis of HLECs treated with the various solutions and stained with phalloidine and propidium iodide, was performed by confocal microscopy. Results: Cytotoxicity induced by powder glove was dose–dependent. A strong necrosis reaction was observed in cells treated by 1mg/ml and 0.1mg/ml powder dilution. This reaction was characterized by a decrease of both neutral red and Hoechst 33342 / propidium iodide; fluorescence was 30% lower than cellular control for the 1mg/ml dilution, which was the same as found with latex. 0.01 and 0.001mg/ml powder dilutions showed a hormesis, which is the beginning of a cell proliferation. Confocal and fluorescence microscopy analysis of the treated cells with various dilutions confirmed these results, showing a decrease of the cell number, with a cytoskeletal disorganization for the two highest dilutions. Conclusions: Surgical glove powders appeared to be strongly toxic on HLECs in vitro, which confirms data previously reported, with other methods. Our sensitive technique showed that this cytotoxicity is dose–dependent. In vitro necrosis reactions detected may be associated with postoperative anterior chamber inflammations. Powder–free gloves could greatly reduce the potential toxic risk associated with powdered gloves.
Keywords: cataract • cell death/apoptosis • drug toxicity/drug effects